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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"No Man Is An Island"
October 21, 2009
It's true. No man is an island. My heart sank when I heard about the
stabbing on the UCONN Campus. Early last Sunday morning, Jasper
Howard was killed. He was twenty years old. He played football. He was an
expectant father.
I didn't know him. I never met him. There was no reason I should be so
upset, but I was. Maybe it was because I went to UCONN. We were
connected by that. I have three children around his age. I put myself in his
parent's place and felt their grief. The truth is that we are all affected by
what happens to the people around us. Their pain diminishes us.
Joan Baez took the words from John Donne's poem and turned it into a
song. "No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man's joy is joy to
me. Each man's grief is my own." There is truth in these words. No matter
how independent we think we are, we are connected to one another on a
deeper level. I like what the speaker said at a recent conference I attended.
He said, "Strangers are just members of God's family we haven't met yet."
It is easy to see the family connection when death comes to someone we
know. On Tuesday morning I went to the Memorial service of a friend and
colleague. Mary Webber Hall was a wife, a mother, a musician, a friend, a
leader in church and community. These things were lifted up in the
celebration of her life in a packed out church.
Halfway through the service members of the audience were invited to
share their stories. One young lady talked about the inspiration she received
from Mary that's been translated into a music school with 175 students in
Michigan. Another young woman told how Mary told her not to be afraid to
use her gifts. Now she is now a full time musician.
The connections we have in life matter. That's why Jesus told us to feed
the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe those who are without and take
care of the sick. He said whenever you did this for the least of these, you
have done it for him. It's true. No man is an island. By reaching out to
someone in need we have the opportunity to change someone's future. So
get out there and meet some of our Fathers' other kids. Let your faith shine
and make a difference in someone's life.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
October 21, 2009
It's true. No man is an island. My heart sank when I heard about the
stabbing on the UCONN Campus. Early last Sunday morning, Jasper
Howard was killed. He was twenty years old. He played football. He was an
expectant father.
I didn't know him. I never met him. There was no reason I should be so
upset, but I was. Maybe it was because I went to UCONN. We were
connected by that. I have three children around his age. I put myself in his
parent's place and felt their grief. The truth is that we are all affected by
what happens to the people around us. Their pain diminishes us.
Joan Baez took the words from John Donne's poem and turned it into a
song. "No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man's joy is joy to
me. Each man's grief is my own." There is truth in these words. No matter
how independent we think we are, we are connected to one another on a
deeper level. I like what the speaker said at a recent conference I attended.
He said, "Strangers are just members of God's family we haven't met yet."
It is easy to see the family connection when death comes to someone we
know. On Tuesday morning I went to the Memorial service of a friend and
colleague. Mary Webber Hall was a wife, a mother, a musician, a friend, a
leader in church and community. These things were lifted up in the
celebration of her life in a packed out church.
Halfway through the service members of the audience were invited to
share their stories. One young lady talked about the inspiration she received
from Mary that's been translated into a music school with 175 students in
Michigan. Another young woman told how Mary told her not to be afraid to
use her gifts. Now she is now a full time musician.
The connections we have in life matter. That's why Jesus told us to feed
the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe those who are without and take
care of the sick. He said whenever you did this for the least of these, you
have done it for him. It's true. No man is an island. By reaching out to
someone in need we have the opportunity to change someone's future. So
get out there and meet some of our Fathers' other kids. Let your faith shine
and make a difference in someone's life.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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